Why Too Many iMessages Will Crash Your iPhone

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iOS hacks are nothing new, but there are ways to crash the system
without complicated exploits or intimate programming knowledge.
By taking advantage of weaknesses in Apple's endemic iMessage
system, some lads of ill repute have discovered a way to spam
users until their phones lock up. iMessage is a text messaging
service for users of Macs, iPhones and iPads, although this
behavior only poses a threat to iOS devices.

Information comes by way of a number of software experts active
in the iOS development and hacking scenes. Griefers (online users
who act within the rules to harass others) can develop a simple
script to flood an iMessage inbox with a constant stream of
nonsense messages.

Usually, this behavior just creates an incredible nuisance, since
it clogs a user's device with nonstop notifications and resulting
noises. However, even iMessage has limits. Some messages include
unusual characters (such as complicated emoticons) that require a
special kind of text rendering.

Spamming
messages with these characters can cause a device to lock up from
apoplectic processing. Even restarting the device may not help
right away, since the messages will continue to come at a fast
and furious pace, and the device must still render whatever came
while the device was turned off. Even if the device does not
freeze, receiving a massive amount of spam messages can be a
colossal waste of valuable data plan money.

"What’s happening is a simple flood," Grant Paul, an iOS
developer, told
TNW. "Apple doesn’t seem to limit how fast messages can be
sent, so the attacker is able to send thousands of messages very
quickly." [See also:
Five Apple Security Myths and the Hard Truths ]

Since the attack cannot permanently damage systems or steal any
information, everyday users are unlikely to find themselves on
the receiving end of unprovoked attacks. However, if you maintain
a public profile or have recently angered someone, your tormentor
may find that this is an easy way to pester you with little
programming skill and almost no stakes.

Apple may address this problem and add some kind of anti-spam
protections into
iMessage, but until then, the most practical solution is to
turn the program off altogether if you've been affected. If not,
you probably don't have much to worry about, but keep an eye on
who has your iMessage contact information.